For those looking to find strong Retail-Wholesale stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Retail-Wholesale peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Cheesecake Factory is one of 202 individual stocks in the Retail-Wholesale sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Cheesecake Factory is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CAKE's full-year earnings has moved 1.9% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, CAKE has gained about 31.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Retail-Wholesale sector has returned an average of 3.3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Cheesecake Factory is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Dillard's (DDS) is another Retail-Wholesale stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 8.5%.
In Dillard's' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 8.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Breaking things down more, Cheesecake Factory is a member of the Retail - Restaurants industry, which includes 39 individual companies and currently sits at #145 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 4% this year, meaning that CAKE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Dillard's falls under the Retail - Regional Department Stores industry. Currently, this industry has 3 stocks and is ranked #38. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -9%.
Going forward, investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to pay close attention to Cheesecake Factory and Dillard's as they could maintain their solid performance.
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The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (CAKE): Free Stock Analysis Report Dillard's, Inc. (DDS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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